Man charged in serial shed burglaries

Published 2:55 pm, Thursday, June 4, 2015

SOUTH ROXANA — An arrest has been made in the case of several burglaries in the South Roxana area over the week of Dec. 23, 2014.

Edward Kraut, 18, of South Roxana was charged Friday with a felony warrant for three counts of burglary and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary. He was taken into custody the following day in Taylorville, Ill. He was staying with relatives there, according to South Roxana Police Chief Bob Coles.

Coles said Kraut admitted to between 15 and 30 burglaries, many involving stealing things from unlocked cars, while being interviewed by South Roxana police.

“He did not get items out of the majority of vehicles he entered to steal things from,” Coles said.

Investigation by South Roxana Sgt. David Davis and Investigator Brousseau led to Kraut’s confession. A subsequent search conducted at his residence recovered numerous stolen items linking Kraut to the robberies, according to a release.

“I would ballpark the cost at $4k-$5k,” Coles said in an email regarding the stolen items. “That is just a rough estimate.”

South Roxana police have requested citizens of South Roxana to check their sheds for any missing or stolen items that may have been recovered from Kraut’s residence. Investigators believe that more burglary complaints will be reported when the weather gets warmer and people go to their sheds.

Kraut is currently in custody in the Madison County Jail. His bond was set at $500,000.